STARS ABOVE ↝ P. DAMERON

[3]

Tera sat in the sand just outside the house as the sun began to rise over the Jakku deserts, an orange streak cutting through the blues and purples that had once made up the night sky. Although Poe had seemed to sleep quite contentedly on the lounger near the fire, no doubt still in dire need of rest from the plane crash, Tera had found herself doing quite the opposite, and after tossing and turning for most of the night she'd finally given up, putting her idle mind to better use knowing there was still work to be done.

She took a deep breath of the fresh early morning air, already beginning to grow swelteringly hot even though dawn was just breaking through the sky, and continued to fiddle with the old rusty compressor. She'd already made good progress since picking up the old piece of junk at Niima Outpost the day before, a few of the rusty screws and bolts having been replaced with slightly newer ones from her toolbox, until it was finally returned to a state where she could use it in the old speeder sitting out in the shed.

The sound of footsteps crunching under the sand pulled Tera's attention away from the compressor and up to where Poe stepped out of the small house, clad in his same leather boots from the day before as well as an old shirt and pair of pants that had belonged to Tera's father. He stared out at the endless desert sands leading off in the distance before turning to face her, a tired smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Good morning," she said, before turning back to fiddling with the screws.

"Morning," he said, "How long have you been out here?"

Tera shrugged, knowing full well she'd lost track of time long before the sun had begun to rise. "A little while, I guess you could say. I didn't want to wake you."

He nodded towards the compressor. "What are you working on?"

"Just a part I need for a speeder I'm fixing up for somebody in the village." she explained. "I got to the outpost late yesterday, and this was all Plutt had left. Just needs a little love and some new bolts, and she'll be good as new."

Poe's eyes scanned the horizon, where the sun was beginning to rise higher in the sky. "How far to Niima Outpost?" he asked.

"Not far," she said simply. "A few miles, maybe. If anybody knows what happened to your droid, it'll be somebody out there. If he can take care of himself like you said, that is, and hasn't been scrapped down for spare parts yet."

"Not my BB-8," he insisted. "Even without the map, he's too valuable to just use for parts. He's one of a kind."

"You're sure fond of that droid," she said, placing the compressor and screwdriver into her bag and leading Poe over to where her own speeder sat just outside the shed. She fired up the engine, nodding for him to hop on board before taking her own place behind the controls.

"He's the best," Poe said, unable to help the proud smile on his face, even though she knew he was worried sick about the droid's whereabouts. "Best buddy in the entire galaxy. And he's a tough one, too, believe it or not."

"For his sake and yours, I hope you're right, Dameron," Tera muttered, her voice lost in the winds as they sped through the endless expanse of desert, in the familiar pathway she'd taken to Niima Outpost nearly every day since she was old enough to drive a speeder.

However, as they crested over the hill and the outpost finally came into view, Tera could instantly tell something was wrong. Even from a distance, she could just make out the black markings of the scorched sand, and a number of the various vendor stalls now stood in ruins, their tattered tents blowing in the breeze. Small fires still smoldered in the distance, in the direction of the old junkyard, their burning blazes now faint but still leaving the scent of ash and smoke lingering in the air.